


Fallen Chimaera

by JeMiChi



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017)
Genre: Blood and Injury, Bonding, Crash Landing, Enemies to Friends, Eye Trauma, Ezra is lonely, Ezra needs a hug, Gen, Head Injury, Headcanon, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Injury Recovery, Internal Conflict, Post-Star Wars: Rebels, Serious Injuries, perhaps, please help Thrawn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2020-10-13 07:48:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20579009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JeMiChi/pseuds/JeMiChi
Summary: Thrawn's plans come crashing down and he finds himself at the mercy of Ezra Bridger who is struggling with conflicting emotions while stuck with the Imperials. A story of reluctant bonding and starting over in a new place. From Ezra's point of view.Keep in mind that this story includes some graphic descriptions of injuries.





	1. Crash

Ezra was trying his hardest to focus, but he was way beyond exhausted. He had lost count of the hours he'd kept holding the atmosphere inside the commanding bridge of the damaged Star Destroyer that was traveling through hyperspace with the purrgil, and it was not an easy task. The Force allowed him to do a lot, but he knew he was reaching his limits. And apparently the man who shared the bridge with him knew it as well. 

The Grand Admiral had been surprisingly talkative throughout their journey, going on and on about some threat that was supposedly worse than the Empire and something about the unknown regions. Most of it had gone way over Ezra's head, but he was never going to admit that to the Imperial. He would have shrugged it all off as some crazy excuse to get him to let the man go, but there was something more, a feeling this had something to do with the visions he'd been having for a while now. But he'd never admit the Imperial could be right, about anything. Either way, it wasn't the time to think about any of that, and Thrawn seemed to understand as much. He had stopped talking a while ago and was observing Ezra in silence with an unreadable expression on his face, while still restrained by the tentacles of the purrgil. Ezra could feel Thrawn's glowing eyes follow his every movement. 

”You need to land.” 

The words interrupted the silence. Ezra might have wanted to tell the Imperial that the purrgil weren't exactly under his control and would go where they pleased and he was merely hitching a ride, but he couldn't even afford to speak or he might lose focus and they'd both die in the vacuum of space. 

”You are at your limit. You can't keep this up any longer,” the man tried again in an urgent tone. 

Ezra spared him a glare. How did Thrawn know, he couldn't tell, but from the genuinely concerned look on the Imperial's face, it was clear the man could tell how much trouble the young man was having just holding everything in place. 

Ezra could see Thrawn's eyes widen as his own vision grew blurry. Just then the purrgil dropped out of hyperspace and the ship jerked violently, throwing him off balance. 

”There is a planet, get us there. Quickly,” Thrawn demanded as Ezra tried desperately to keep up his Force feat while dropped onto his knees. 

But even when the purrgil approached the mentioned planet, it was too late. Ezra's consciousness was fading and he was losing focus. The Star Destroyer rocked again as the purrgil holding it suddenly let go, dropping the Grand Admiral to the floor as it did so. Air started leaking out of the ship with a whoosh. Ezra bit his lip as he tried once more to extend his tired hand and hold the atmosphere in with the help of the Force. Through his darkening vision he could see the Imperial stand up with some effort and hurry to the controls, but it was futile. The ship was practically dead with most of the computers destroyed. Just as it reached the atmosphere of the unknown planet, Ezra fell on the floor unconscious. 

******* 

The young man opened his eyes slowly, his tired mind briefly registering physical discomfort. He was dizzy and for a moment he couldn't recall where he was or why, but the burning pain on his left shoulder was growing unbearable and prevented him from falling back to sleep. Slowly, using his right hand for support, he pushed himself up and blinked a few times as he took in the view around him. What he saw was a disaster. 

It took him another moment to remember that he had been on an Imperial Star Destroyer, and clearly the ship had crashed on some planet. The small circle around the spot where he had been lying was clear of debris, but everything else was a mess. The ceiling was crooked and most of the panels had fallen to the floor. Pieces of bent and broken metal, loose wiring, and shards of transparisteel also littered the bridge floor while smoke and dust made it difficult to see in the already dark room, but Ezra realized it had been tilted into a weird angle. Maybe the ship had landed slightly sideways and a bit nose down because of the terrain, or maybe the entire ship had just gotten bent out of shape in the crash. As a result there was a mound of metal on one side of the room. Some light entered the bridge through the broken viewports and the cracks in the hull. 

Ezra coughed a few times and shook his head, holding his wounded shoulder gingerly as he looked around. He spotted his blaster among the rubble on the floor and picked it up. He peeked out of the damaged viewport in order to see the surrounding area, but it was of no use. The bridge was too high up and he could only see smoke and dust below. Parts of the ship had caught fire. Rather than risking a jump outside with his injury, the young man turned around to study the doors leading inside the ship. He had regained enough stamina that he should be able to pry them open with the help of the Force. 

Ezra held his blaster ready as the doors creaked open little by little, but there was only silence on the other side. Once the doors were fully open and the dust had cleared a little, he could see that the bodies of the Imperial troopers had fallen against the doorway and were blocking his path. He sighed. He could see some of them twitch so at least they weren't all dead. He wasn't entirely sure if he'd consider that good or bad, but clearly they weren't a threat at the moment. He'd decide what to do about them once he had a better idea of the whole situation. 

As Ezra was about to step over the pile of bodies sprawled on the floor, a movement behind him caught his eye and he raised his blaster. As he turned around, he could see the movement had only been some more debris falling from the unsteady pile, but it had revealed something else, something blue, a shade of blue he could immediately recognize as Grand Admiral Thrawn. 

Ezra approached him carefully, blaster ready, but the man remained unmoving, lying on his back still buried in the debris, his face half obstructed by a piece of metal. Ezra pressed the muzzle of the gun against his chest. 

”Hey,” he tried, but there was no response. He poked the man's chest with the blaster once more but there was still no reaction, not even a flinch. 

Slowly Ezra placed the gun on the floor and knelt down next to the Imperial.  
There was a time when Ezra would have been happy to see his enemy like this, but he had taken Kanan's guidance into heart and was trying his hardest to overcome such dark thoughts and feelings and move on from whatever grudges or resentment he had. He only hesitated for a moment.  
Then, taking a deep breath, he moved the pieces of debris off of the man's face. 

Thrawn was lying on his back, his head rotated to the side, facing his left. His eyes were closed and his mouth slightly ajar. He had some small cuts and bruises from the shards from what Ezra could see, and there was some blood on his clothes and on the debris around him. 

Gingerly Ezra placed two fingers on his neck and waited, holding his breath. 

He sighed. Thrawn was still alive, although unconscious, and his pulse was alarmingly weak and rapid. No matter how much Ezra still hated the Imperial for all the things he had done on Lothal, it hadn't been his intention to kill the man so he felt a small wave of relief that he was still alive.  
If he had wanted to kill Thrawn, he wouldn't have needed to go through all this trouble to remove him from the territory of the Galactic Empire. 

Ezra still wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to accomplish with this Imperial Grand Admiral, and he certainly didn't like the man, but his visions had been clear about this one thing at least. This was where he was supposed to be. 

Of course, none of the visions had mentioned anything about them crash-landing and nearly dying, but he already knew that was to be expected from a Force vision. 

The decision to leave everything and everyone behind hadn't been easy and he had hoped for an alternative until the very end, but he had known there would be no such thing and followed Kanan's example and done what he had to. 

Even so, his conflicting emotions made Ezra frown as he looked at the unconscious man. No matter how hard he tried to move on from the losses and grief the Imperial had caused for him, his friends, and Lothal, personally he would still rather leave this man to die. It just seemed like the galaxy would be better off without someone like him. But this wasn't about Ezra or even about Lothal. There was something more to this man, something he still didn't quite understand, and Ezra was certainly curious. He always was. He would do his best to let go of the grudges and hatred for the sake of whatever it was that this Imperial was needed for. That was surely what Kanan would have done. That was what he would have wanted him to do. So he'd give this Thrawn another chance and see what happened afterwards. But for that he'd need to live. 

As minutes passed, it became clear that Thrawn wasn't going to wake up. On the contrary, Ezra could feel him grow weaker rapidly with every stuttering breath he took.  
He had been removing the rubble from all over Thrawn's body and had only found small cuts and bruises. Nothing life threatening that would explain his weakening state. Was it the momentary lack of air that had caused him to end up like this? Or was there some damage inside that he couldn't see?  
Ezra wished he could tell that through the Force. Apparently there had been Jedi who could do that, but Kanan hadn't been able to teach him that.  
But the moment Ezra placed his hand under Thrawn's head to turn it so he'd be facing up, he didn't need the Force to figure out what was wrong with him. 

”...karabast,” he muttered under his breath as his hand got sticky with blood. The left side of Thrawn's face was a bloody mess. Saying he was in bad shape would be an understatement when his face was so disfigured, with blood streaming out from a gash on his temple. He was also bleeding from his eye, his ear, and his mouth on the left side. Whatever had hit his head, had hit it hard. The rubble around and underneath the man had hidden all the blood from Ezra's view, but now he could see it pooling under his head.  
Worse yet, he could literally feel the bone shifting and giving in under the pressure of even the lightest touch. He realized that the man's skull must have fractured in the impact. Or rather, shattered like the viewport windows around them. It was pretty much a miracle the man was even alive and breathing and his shattered skull hadn't gotten entirely crushed. But at this rate he wouldn't last for long. 

Ezra heard the sound of running from the other side of the doors and as he turned to look there were three Imperial officers or troopers without their armor standing in the doorway. Only glowrods in their hands, none of them carried any weapons. Their bewildered gazes shifting between the pile of troopers on the floor and Ezra who was kneeling next to the body of Grand Admiral Thrawn with his hands covered in blood and his blaster lying on the floor next to him. The eyes of the Imperials widened in horror. 

”You!” One of them exclaimed. ”You killed them! You killed HIM!!!” 

The Imperial's voice cracked in disbelief and desperation, but before the man could say anything else, one of the other two grabbed his shoulder urgently and practically dragged him away. 

Ezra watched them run away in panic, then looked at his hand covered in Thrawn's blood. He decided that it was a good thing there were survivors. These people had clearly assumed Thrawn was dead and ran away like cowards, but if there were more, they'd be able to help the injured like the troopers still lying in the doorway. Ezra could feel their lives in the Force now that he had regained some more stamina, and they seemed stable, with only minor injuries.  
But Thrawn wouldn't have the time to wait for help to arrive. Something had to be done now and it didn't matter whether Ezra wanted to help the man or not. It had to be done.


	2. In the Dark

Ezra rummaged through his pockets for first aid supplies. They weren't of much use. Small patches like these wouldn't help with a serious injury like this. He stuffed them back to use later for the small cuts and placed a roll of bandage next to Thrawn. He checked Thrawn's own pockets for something useful but found nothing. His shoulders dropped, but he refused to give up. A ship of this size should have some small first aid kits or medpacs here and there so he started looking around, fighting through his own pain. 

It took Ezra a moment, but he was finally able to locate a small box on the wall. It was also bent out of shape but he was able to pull the door open easily. It fell off its hinges and clattered to the floor, but the contents inside were fine and Ezra gathered all he could carry and brought them next to Thrawn.   
There was a fallen chair among the rubble and Ezra lifted it up as a makeshift table, placing all the supplies he had found on it for easy access. 

Ezra took a controlled breath to calm his mind and pulled the man over onto his side as carefully as he could, gritting his teeth as the nagging pain from his own wounds intensified from the strain. 

He took a closer look at Thrawn and frowned. 

The wound on the side of the man's head would need stitches, Ezra knew. But even if he had the equipment, he didn't think he'd be able to do it. Let alone surgery. He was quite sure this kind of fractures would require that, but he couldn't tell if this planet had medcenters or even civilization, or if the medbay of the Star Destroyer was still functional, so this would have to do for now.   
A small help was still better than no help, he thought as he pressed a large bacta patch over the gash gingerly, making sure he wasn't pressing it so much that the bone fragments might move and cause more damage. 

He hadn't survived alone on the streets all those years with no first aid skills, but he had never needed to deal with anything this bad. He thought back at those years as he wrapped a generous amount of bandage around Thrawn's head to keep the patch in place. 

Ezra had to shake off a sudden and unwelcome memory as he looked at Thrawn's damaged eye.   
This was also beyond his skills and he had no idea if the damage was so severe that the eye would become blind or even lost entirely. 

He wouldn't know what to do even if the man was human, let alone when Thrawn was whatever he was with his unusual glowing eyes. At least he'd have one seeing eye no matter what, Ezra thought grimly. 

He had no idea what else to do about that or the bleeding ear, so he just wiped away the blood from the man's face and placed another bacta patch over the damaged eye, wrapping even more bandage around his head until most of his hair was hidden underneath it like he was wearing a poor excuse of a turban. At least that would protect his head from additional damage. 

Once Ezra was done with that, he removed Thrawn's tunic and tossed it over the back of the chair along with the belt. He wanted to make sure he hadn't missed any major injuries so he peeked under Thrawn's shirt. 

Even in the dim light he could see the purplish bruises left by the purrgil tentacles across his torso. It was quite possible that he had some broken ribs and sore muscles, but it was unlikely they'd be threatening his life. 

Ezra allowed himself to think the man deserved some pain for all the things he had done, but only for a moment, then he shook off the idea as he discovered something else. 

There weren't many fresh wounds on the man's body. Certainly nothing that would need treatment. But clearly he was already familiar with pain. Ezra almost felt sorry for thinking he deserved to suffer as his gaze traced the countless scars that littered Thrawn's chest. Reminders of old battles most likely; deep, uneven cuts and blaster burns left without treatment for too long, too many to count. Most of them were fairly old, with only patterns of white marking the man's blue skin. Ezra pulled Thrawn's shirt down to cover them quietly. He would never admit it, not even to himself, but he might have felt a flicker of something resembling respect towards the Grand Admiral. Clearly he hadn't spent his whole life sitting comfortably on some command chair. 

For a moment Ezra just rested on his knees next to Thrawn, wondering what he should do next.   
The Imperial hadn't regained consciousness, but he seemed to be breathing more easily and his heart was beating steadily now.

As the young man allowed himself to relax a little, the pain he'd been ignoring returned with full force. His shoulder gave him a fresh reminder of just how much a blaster burn hurt, causing throbs of pain to shoot through his whole body. He bit his lip. It was time to do something about that. 

Ezra tried to remove his jacket at first, but gave up as the pain intensified with every movement until he had tears in his eyes. 

He ended up tearing off the sleeve with the help of a sharp piece of metal he picked up from the floor. He groaned in agony while reaching for the last bacta patches he had on the chair and placed them gingerly on both sides of his shoulder, wincing as the material made contact with the wound but slowly the pain subsided and the patch felt nice and cool against the irritated skin. He wrapped bandages around his shoulder too, but doing it on himself was much harder and it ended up rather loose and messy, but that would have to do. 

Ezra let his gaze drift around the dusty wreck of the bridge. It definitely wasn't an ideal place for an injured person, but moving Thrawn probably wasn't a good idea, not for either of them, especially when Ezra didn't know a safe way out of the ship. But sooner or later they'd have to leave, so he decided it was as good a time to investigate as any. 

Checking Thrawn one more time to make sure he was stable and not in immediate danger, Ezra got back to his feet and walked to the door. 

For the first time he decided to check on the Imperials lying there as well. 

Ezra removed their helmets carefully. Holding one, he smiled as he was reminded of his collection hobby back on Lothal. It had been useful too, so many times. Perhaps he'd start over right here. 

His smile faded and he placed the helmet next to the trooper. He could see the man was breathing so he'd probably be fine. He dragged the man next to the wall and placed him in a more comfortable position. He did the same to all the troopers lying in the doorway. 

Ezra hadn't aimed at vital points when he shot them, but he still found it surprising that they were all still alive.   
He couldn't say the same about everyone on the Star Destroyer, he could feel way less people aboard than back on Lothal and many of those lives were quickly fading.   
These Imperials didn't deserve his compassion, but Ezra couldn't help the small pang of guilt that was sneaking into his consciousness. No matter what, they were people too. 

Ezra shook his head and moved away from the troopers. The corridor beyond the doorway extended into complete darkness. The lights of the entire ship had gone out in the crash and the dark corridors had gotten bent out of shape and filled with debris that made it hard to move. The angle of the ship distorted them further so navigating would be hard. 

Ezra walked slowly into the darkness and smirked. This was nothing compared to the air ducts and sewers he had navigated through his whole life. And one lesson he had learned from Kanan was that you didn't need to see in order to find your way if you relied on the Force, and that was what he was going to do. 

With a final glance back at the still form of Grand Admiral Thrawn, Ezra left the wrecked bridge. 

The way through the warped corridors was slow because of all the obstacles caused by collapsed walls and fallen rubble that he had to climb over in complete darkness. His injured shoulder certainly wasn't helping and he had to descend down levels after running into dead ends. At least the weird angle of the ship made it easier to go down through the turbolift shafts and air ducts, but the exertion caused his whole body shake as the strain made the lingering pain on his shoulder worse. But he'd rather do something than sit still in the bridge. 

A few times a stormtrooper or two crossed his path and he hid behind a corner. They were able to navigate the darkness with the help of the sensors in their helmets and for a fleeting moment Ezra regretted not taking one of the helmets, but that would have also made him easy to spot and he had something much better. 

This time he was genuinely relieved to see the troopers hurrying to help the injured. The feeling of the lives fading was really starting to get to him. 

After a few more dead ends, Ezra finally found an open route down to the lower levels and towards the bow of the giant ship. But it didn't take him long to realize that a large portion of the Star Destroyer had been completely destroyed in the crash and there was no going to the bow with every compartment collapsed and crushed by the impact and absolutely no signs of life remaining there. 

He had better luck reaching the side of the ship and felt relieved when he could finally see some rays of light. 

Turned out that the light came through a large crack on the hull, but that didn't matter. This was a way out. 

Ezra walked carefully towards the hole and looked outside – and got nearly swept off his feet by a gust of wind. He grabbed the edges of the broken hull and whistled in amazement.   
It was the first clear view he'd gotten of the planet. The ”exit” was still way above ground level but if he'd just regain his strength a little more that wouldn't be a problem. 

But the storm currently raging outside certainly was a problem. He could see the wind tear trees from the soil in the distance, and the rain was drumming against the hull of the ship with full force while lightning bolts illuminated the sky darkened by clouds. 

Slowly Ezra backed away from the crack in the wall. Just that quick peek outside had gotten him soaking wet. He could have sworn the sky was clear when he left the bridge, so the storm had started very suddenly. It wasn't something he was used to seeing on Lothal.   
On the bright side that would most likely put out many of the fires. 

Ezra tried his hardest to sense if there were any people outside the ship, but other than some small animals, he could only sense life signs inside the Star Destroyer.   
He sighed. In a way it was a good thing he had stranded the Imperials away from civilization and out of the reach of the Empire, but on the other hand these people needed help.   
He needed help. 

”Well, no use worrying about that now,” he muttered to himself and turned back. 

At least until the storm was over, it would be better to stay inside.   
Ezra shook some of the water out of his hair and walked back towards the bridge, paying close attention to every corridor and door he passed along the way. 

Returning to the bridge felt at least twice as fast as his little adventure away from there.   
Entering the room, nothing seemed to have changed, which didn't exactly surprise Ezra as he hadn't been gone for that long, but somehow he felt like something should have been different. 

He shook his head and gave a quick glance to the unconscious Imperials now safely lined up against the walls. He could see some of them twitch slightly and hoped they wouldn't start causing any problems later. 

Back on the commanding bridge, he could see the rain causing pools of water on the floor under the broken viewports. Small streams of water were already running through the rubble and down to the crew pits. 

Ezra huffed in frustration as he realized that Thrawn was also caught in the rain.   
No matter how bad it would be for his injuries to move the man, he couldn't stay where he was. 

Quickly Ezra pushed the rubble out of his way to create a clean path to the dry side of the room right next to the door where the floor was higher so the water wouldn't reach them. 

Thrawn's comfort had never been high on Ezra's list of priorities, but he tried really hard to protect his head from further injuries as he placed his arms around the man from under his arms and started dragging him through the room, walking backwards slowly even when the strain and pressure pulled at his own wounds, causing new waves of pain. 

Ezra nearly dropped the man when he noticed the glowing red slit as the Imperial's uninjured eye observed him in silence. 

But as soon as Ezra stopped, Thrawn simply closed his eye with a calm, yet resigned expression on his face. Ezra could hear him mumble something but the words were total gibberish to him and the man fell back into silence quickly. 

”Yeah, you probably have quite a headache,” Ezra commented without expecting an answer. He assumed the Imperial had blacked out again and placed the man on the floor as gently as he could.

Touching his wounded shoulder gingerly, he sighed. There was blood seeping through the bandages. 

”My crew?” 

The hoarse voice nearly made Ezra jump in surprise. He spun around to look at Thrawn. The man still had his eye screwed shut but his face was scrunched up in pain so clearly he was awake. Ezra was nearly as surprised that the first concern of the Imperial would be his crew. From his experience, Imperials weren't exactly known for caring about others. 

”Alive,” he answered after a moment of hesitation. Some of them were anyway, he thought, but he wasn't going to say that out loud. 

Thrawn was quiet for long enough that Ezra was beginning to think he wouldn't say anything else, but then he opened his eye slightly and Ezra felt like the man could see right through those unspoken words. 

”Help them.” 

The unusually quiet voice made it sound more like a plea than an order and Ezra stared at the man in disbelief. Then he sighed loudly. 

”I'm not a monster, you know. But,” he paused for a moment. ”What makes you think they won't just instantly attack me when they have the chance!?” 

Again, Thrawn remained silent. 

”You should be grateful I let those guys live!” Ezra pointed towards the troopers on the other side of the doorway, but there was no response.   
The pained tension in Thrawn's features was gone but his whole body was convulsing and clearly he was no longer conscious. 

Ezra waited until Thrawn was still, with the slow rise and fall of his chest the only indicator that the man was still alive. 

With an exasperated sigh he walked back to the chair that still carried the remaining first aid supplies and Thrawn's tunic. 

To his surprise it had been mostly spared from the rain, sitting right on the edge of the area where the water was pouring down through the viewports. 

He left the medical supplies on the chair and picked up the white Imperial tunic before returning to Thrawn. The man had gotten wet in the rain and it wasn't going to get any warmer on the bridge. Ezra could see the darkness grow deeper as the sun set somewhere behind the storm clouds, so it would be night soon. He tossed the tunic on the unconscious form of the Grand Admiral. 

”Don't you dare die on me now,” he muttered as he walked to the opposite corner on the dry side of the bridge and curled up in a ball, holding his injured shoulder gingerly as he tried to find a comfortable position in order to get some rest himself. 

It had been an exhausting day, both physically and emotionally, and Ezra felt more lonely than he had for years, maybe even more than ever now that he was only surrounded by hostile people. 

For as long as he'd kept himself busy treating Thrawn's wounds or looking for a way out he had been able to ignore it, but now the weight of his decision felt crushing on him and he missed the family he knew he wouldn't be seeing in a long time. 

Ezra allowed himself a moment of weakness and fell asleep with tears streaming down on his cheeks as the memories of his family filled his mind and he could only hope they were safe and this had all been worth it. 

He thought about Hera, Sabine, and Zeb, and what they were all doing now without him, even that troublemaker of a droid, Chopper.   
And he thought about Kanan. He had taken Kanan's final lesson to heart, but that didn't mean it was easy. If there had only been another way....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the first day is over! 
> 
> After this there will be some light. Light after the darkness and the calm after a storm, you know. 
> 
> I'm judging Ezra for not simply taking one of those helmets though. He's making my life harder as a writer..! And I guess he'll just keep doing that until the story is over... ^^"


	3. Light in the Darkness

Ezra woke up confused. It was still dark and he was feeling uncomfortable in his damp clothes but it took him a moment to remember why that was. 

He jolted as he caught a glowing red eye observing him through the darkness.   
The sudden movement caused a nearly overwhelming wave of pain to run through his shoulder. The injury had definitely gotten worse when he moved Thrawn. 

Ezra hobbled to his feet and grimaced.   
The Grand Admiral's piercing gaze followed him as the young man walked slowly towards the Imperial. 

Thrawn tried to prop himself up on his elbows as Ezra approached him. 

”Don't move,” Ezra said, more sharply than he had intended. 

The resigned expression returned on the Imperial's face as he closed his eye and slumped back on the floor. 

”I will not attempt anything, I have been def-,” he started calmly when he was abruptly interrupted by Ezra. 

”Not that! You are hurt. Badly.” 

Thrawn opened his eye again and gave him a curious look. 

”I know,” he said tiredly and reached to touch the bandages on his face with his hand. ”So what happens now?” 

”Honestly? I really don't know.” Ezra shrugged. ”But I know one thing; that this is where I'm supposed to be and we are in this together,” he added quickly. 

To his surprise Thrawn smiled slightly. But as the man tried to shift into another position he had to squeeze his eyes shut and Ezra could hear him hiss quietly. 

”Told you so.” Ezra poked the man on his shoulder. 

That's when he noticed that something had changed while he was asleep. The troopers on the other side of the doorway were nowhere to be seen. He tensed and looked around nervously. 

Thrawn followed his movements with a slightly raised eyebrow and a hint of amusement on his exhausted face. 

”I sent those men to gather some supplies,” Thrawn explained. 

”How comes I didn't notice anything?” 

Ezra stared at Thrawn and now there was definitely amusement on the man's face. 

”They are capable warriors who can move quietly. After treating their wounds they were ready to go.” 

Ezra's eyes darted towards the chair where he had left the medical supplies and found it empty.   
He frowned. 

”But why didn't they attack me?” 

Ezra exchanged glances with Thrawn who was still smiling despite the obvious pain. 

”There would be no use in that now, would there? I told them to leave you alone.” 

Ezra looked at the man in disbelief, not quite understanding what he had meant, but took a deep breath as the alarm he felt faded slowly. He sat down on the floor next to the Imperial and shivered a little. 

Thrawn's expression was serious again. 

”I am grateful you didn't aim at vital points when you shot my men,” he said calmly but quietly and Ezra felt a pang of guilt once again. 

”Neither did you,” he whispered and touched his sore shoulder gently. ”I know you could have. In that distance even someone with bad aim could get in a fatal shot. But you didn't...” 

Thrawn watched him in silence for another moment. Then he grabbed his tunic and handed it to the young man who looked at him in stunned confusion. 

”Go back to sleep. I can endure the cold better than you.” 

Ezra tried to say something in protest but Thrawn raised his hand to stop him. 

”That can wait. In the morning you should go to my quarters and find yourself something dry to wear.” 

”I don't need your permission to do that. I would have gone anyway!” Ezra pouted a little as the Grand Admiral smiled tiredly. 

”I know.” 

If Thrawn hadn't been so badly injured, Ezra might have punched him but he simply yanked the offered garment from his hand. 

”You are like that loth-cat,” Ezra thought out loud in a voice that was barely audible. 

”Excuse me?” Thrawn inclined his head curiously. 

”Nevermind. Just one of those Jedi things you wouldn't understand.” Ezra shrugged as he returned to his corner where he wrapped the large tunic around his body. Any anger or hatred he'd had towards the man was starting to lose its edge. With one final glance at the Imperial, he closed his eyes and fell asleep unsure about his future. 

******* 

The stormtroopers were already in the room when Ezra woke up, but this time he wasn't even surprised to see them there. They had brought an entire crate of various supplies with them and were busy at work. 

Curiously Ezra tried to crane his neck to see the contents of the crate but the movement caught the troopers' attention. Instinctively he reached for his blaster. The troopers did the same, but stopped instantly as Grand Admiral Thrawn gave them an icy glare. The look gave Ezra chills too, but when Thrawn turned his attention to Ezra his expression was as impassive as ever. 

”Commander Bridger.” 

”Yeah... Good morning to you too,” Ezra said a bit sourly as he kept an eye on the troopers who were still eyeing him suspiciously. The young man could sense their hostile glares even through the helmets. 

”Right. I think I'll just go find those clothes now,” Ezra muttered as he walked past the tense Imperials. All of them were wearing their helmets again, but some were missing parts from their armor where they had applied bandages or bacta patches. One was leaning heavily against the crate and seemed to have trouble walking. 

Ezra noted that someone had brought thick blankets for Thrawn so he was resting on them rather than on the hard durasteel floor, with one rolled into a makeshift pillow. 

Better than nothing, he thought.   
He'd make sure to do the same if he had to spend another night on the ship. 

He tossed Thrawn's tunic back on the chair, ignoring the obvious disapproval of the troopers around him. He was going to fetch something more suitable for himself if possible, and Thrawn already had more than enough blankets to keep himself warm and cozy. It was not like any of them needed to follow some Imperial protocol in this part of the galaxy anyway. 

Before Ezra made it to the door, Thrawn gestured a silent order to the two troopers in black standing closest to him and after a nod of acknowledgement one of the two reached for the crate and pulled out a glowrod. 

”You will need this, kid,” the trooper said in a low voice as he placed the item in Ezra's hand. 

The trooper returned to whatever he had been doing immediately, so Ezra barely had the time to react. He stared at the glowrod and then at Thrawn who had obviously planned this ahead as well. 

Thrawn watched him with mild interest.   
He didn't say anything but a knowing smile touched his lips briefly. Ezra could still see lines of tension on his face and every movement came with a pained frown and an occasional flinch, but he looked much more comfortable now, and with the troopers keeping him company Ezra could go exploring without having to worry about the man at least. 

Ezra toyed with the code cylinders he had taken from Thrawn's pockets as he walked through the dark corridor. He doubted they would be of any use when even the emergency power was mostly lost, but he'd hold onto them just in case. 

Turning on the glowrod, he could actually see all the damage the corridors had suffered. Even with the lightsource, it took him a while to locate Thrawn's quarters through the warped route. 

He stopped in front of the door, straining his ears for any sounds. The door was slightly open. 

”Figures. The Imperials already visited.” 

Ezra tried to push the door fully open with his hands, but it was stuck where it was. He took a deep breath and focused his full attention on the mechanism. With the Force he was able to push the door open the rest of the way. 

The room inside was as much a disaster as the rest of the ship, with fallen debris covering everything. 

What Ezra assumed had been Thrawn's bed had been entirely smashed to pieces by a fallen portion of the ceiling, explaining why the troopers hadn't even considered moving the Grand Admiral to rest in his own quarters.   
Ezra could see the room above through the hole and took note of that in case he'd ever need to find a quick access to the level above. 

He made sure to peek inside every locker and compartment now that he had the chance, but quickly discovered that the Grand Admiral lived a very boring life with barely anything of interest stored in his private cabin. Or more likely, he rarely used the room and spent most of his time in his office or the commanding bridge with his art collection or something. But the clothes were there at least. 

Ezra raised an eyebrow as he shuffled through the piles of similar Imperial uniforms that had probably been lined up neatly until the crash. Now they all lied scattered on the floor like everything else. 

Ezra picked one up for closer inspection and shook his head. They were all too large for him and certainly not his style. Didn't this guy own anything else?   
As soon as he'd thought of that he came across a number of civilian clothes. Pointing the glowrod at them he studied the strange garments for a moment. 

”I see what you were doing.” 

He smiled. These were clearly disguises to blend in when Imperial presence was unwanted. 

”Aren't you a sneaky one!” 

Ezra took a few of those clothes aside. Then he noticed a hooded cloak and picked it up. 

”That could come in handy,” he mused. 

In the end he picked one of the Imperial uniforms too, an olive green one, just in case. Although he was quite sure that a stormtrooper armor would prove way more useful to him. 

Ezra only found one blanket, so after shaking the dust off from the clothes he'd collected, he wrapped them inside it for easy carrying, leaving only a dark grey set he'd picked up to change into. 

Ezra removed his damp clothes and shivered a little as he placed them on top of everything else. He'd change back as soon as they were dry. 

The clothes he'd picked up were still way too large for him, but at least the loose sleeves didn't agitate the wound on his shoulder as much. And they were clean and warm. Wearing the cloak on top of them like a cape he'd be protected from the wind and the rain even if he ventured outside. And he'd sleep more comfortably for sure. He stuffed the pant legs inside his boots and left the room. 

This time Ezra took his time to check every room he passed on his way back. Most of them had nothing of interest for him. 

One time he almost ran into a stormtrooper. The man was alone and looked just as startled about the sudden encounter as Ezra did, possibly even more as he turned around and ran right back where he had come from. The young man didn't follow him, he just shook his head and moved on to the next door. 

The refresher still had running water so Ezra assumed there would be fresh water in other locations too. With only a small detour he managed to find some type of rehydration station with a small conservator for food. Most of the foods were no longer frozen so he only picked up a handful of ration bars and stuffed them inside the makeshift blanket bag he was carrying. 

After a moment of exploring, he located a portable caf machine that was still intact and had its own small power pack. He smiled. 

”Wouldn't that be quite an emergency if the Imperials couldn't get their caf in the morning!” 

He tested the machine. The indicator lights confirmed it still had enough power for at least one use. 

Ezra rummaged through the cupboards until he had found two lidded cups that weren't broken and filled them with steaming hot caf. 

A bit bitter for his taste but it would do, Ezra thought as he took a sip to try it before closing the lids. 

With some trouble he managed to balance the two cups in his left hand, the blanket bag on his right and the glowrod in his mouth, and returned to the bridge. 

He dropped the bag of clothes outside the doorway and the glowrod on top of the pile and stretched his sore arm. He took out his damp clothes and placed them on the broken holoprojector to dry and switched the cups of caf to his right hand in order to allow his injured shoulder a moment to rest. He only grabbed two of the ration bars and balanced them on top of the cups as he approached the door. 

On the other side of the door the two troopers wearing black were standing rigid guard, but the stormtroopers had vanished somewhere again. Ezra assumed they were bringing more supplies or looking for injured or whatever Thrawn had asked them to do. 

The two didn't seem to react to Ezra's return in any way, but he knew they had seen him. Flashing them a wide smile, he raised his free hand and waved at them happily. 

The two exchanged glances in confusion, and then, raised their hands uncertainly to answer the greeting. 

”I like you guys!” Ezra grinned and walked inside the room. 

He found Thrawn sitting uprigh on his blanket, his back against the wall. Exhaustion marred his features and his eye was a narrow slit, but he was up. 

While Ezra was gone, someone had replaced the bandages. Thrawn had also obtained an eyepatch from somewhere to protect his injured eye. 

Ezra stared at the Grand Admiral until the man turned his head to look at him tiredly. 

”You look like you could use this,” Ezra commented and plopped down next to the man, offering him the other cup and a ration bar. 

Thrawn took them from his hand without a word. 

Ezra leaned his back against the wall with a content sigh and took a sip from his cup. The hot drink really felt good and he hadn't even realized how hungry he was until he took a bite from the ration bar. It was gone almost instantly. 

Ezra could see Thrawn do the same next to him. The man winced a little as he straightened his back to drink but clearly agreed that this was well needed. He closed his eye as he emptied the cup and placed it on the floor in between them. 

”Thank you, Commander Bridger.” 

”Yeah yeah, whatever.” Ezra waved his hand in dismissal. ”Now there are some things I'd like to know.” 

Thrawn opened his eye and gave Ezra a long curious look. 

”Time for an interrogation then? Very well.” 

Ezra raised an eyebrow. ”No, not really.” He shrugged casually. ”I'm just curious. What exactly are you?”

If Thrawn was surprised by his question, he hid it well. He nodded slowly. 

”I am a Chiss.” 

Ezra inclined his head and tried to remember if he'd ever heard about Chiss, but couldn't recall anything. 

”Never heard of them,” he admitted. 

Thrawn smiled slightly as if he'd expected the answer. 

”I would be surprised if you had. Apparently there are some stories in the worlds closest to the unknown regions, but otherwise it's not common knowledge.” 

Ezra studied him for a moment and frowned. 

”So you come from somewhere very far from the Empire?” 

”Yes.” 

”Then why would you leave everything behind to join the Empire?” Ezra tried to keep the judgemental tone from his voice but the words came out sharper than he'd intended as painful memories tried to sneak their way into his mind. The Empire had taken a lot away from him. 

Thrawn watched his expressions change for a moment, then pointed out of the viewport. 

”This planet... Do you know what's out there?” 

”Not really,” Ezra admitted. ”Why?” 

”You said before that this is where you needed to be. There must be a reason for that.” 

Ezra considered his answer for a moment, but there was no reason to leave Thrawn in the dark now that they were stuck in this situation together. He sighed and looked at the Imperial. 

”I've been having these visions about this place,” he said slowly. ”And about you,” he added thoughtfully. 

”But you are avoiding my question! Why did you join the Empire?” 

Thrawn gave him a nod of acknowledgement but kept gazing at the sky through the viewport. 

”I apologize,” he said. ”Imagine that there is a powerful beast living on this planet.” Thrawn looked at Ezra briefly and the young man could see an almost nostalgic expression flash on the face of the Chiss like he was about to tell a story he had told to someone else before him and was remembering that. 

”This beast is too powerful for a Jedi and it's too powerful for a Chiss to defeat alone. Imagine that you and me are the only people there facing this creature. Now, what would you do?” 

Ezra stared at the man. For a moment he was almost certain that Thrawn saw someone else in his place, but the nostalgic expression was quickly replaced by his usual impassive look as he waited patiently for the other to answer. 

”Obviously we should team up,” he shrugged. What did this story have to do with anything? 

”Even if we were enemies?” 

”Yeah, I think so. Why?” 

Thrawn nodded. 

”That is indeed a good strategy. An alliance will make the likelihood of survival much better. It's one way to go about it.” 

”So? What does this have to do with you joining the Empire?” 

Thrawn inclined his head slightly and closed his eye looking more weary than Ezra had ever seen him. 

”Commander Bridger, have you ever seen entire civilizations destroyed from the inside? There is an enemy more powerful and dangerous than the Empire lurking in the shadows just waiting for the right time to strike and ready to conquer this entire galaxy.” 

Ezra stared at Thrawn in disbelief but he didn't dare to question the words of the man when the Chiss opened his eye and the look he gave the young man was filled with pain and grief over losses Ezra could only imagine. 

Ezra could remember Thrawn trying to tell him about something similar before the crash too, and he had a feeling it could be connected to his visions somehow. 

But the story wasn't over. 

”This beast is an enemy of the Chiss. One that we have no hope of defeating alone, and it has already made its nest among my people.” 

That's when Ezra understood. 

”So you teamed up with the Empire to take it down together?” 

”Perhaps,” Thrawn leaned back against the wall and sighed. ”There is one more way to survive the beast.” 

Ezra frowned and thought hard about it, but there was only one other conclusion to make and he didn't like it. 

”Bait,” he whispered. 

Thrawn looked at him clearly surprised. ”You are not as naive as I thought, Commander Bridger.” 

Ezra pouted. ”I did that myself to get you off Lothal, didn't I?” 

Thrawn raised his eyebrows slightly. 

”Indeed. You became the bait so the other rebels could escape while you were sacrificed for their cause. That is indeed a sound strategy.” 

Ezra could tell that for a moment Thrawn considered adding something, but he seemed to think better of it and just gave Ezra a nod of approval instead. 

”Now, would you tell me more about that... vision of yours?” 

”Okay, sure,” Ezra agreed. Thrawn had answered his question so it was only fair that he'd answer his. 

”These are a bit different than the ones I've had before,” he said as he thought about it. ”Although you wouldn't understand that,” he added with a shrug. 

”Enlighten me,” Thrawn urged as he focused his full attention on the young man. 

Ezra shrugged again as he started explaining. 

”Well, the usual visions are hard to figure out. I guess you could call them pretty vague so interpreting them is a pain. But these ones, I've seen them over and over again.” 

”And they were more clear?” 

”No, not exactly. But they were different. I think it has something to do with the holocrons.” 

Thrawn gave him a curious look. ”Holocrons?” 

”I'll tell you about that some other time,” Ezra promised reluctantly, not feeling too thrilled about sharing that whole encounter with Maul and everything that followed with someone like Thrawn. 

Thrawn nodded without a word to allow Ezra to continue his explanation. 

Ezra took a deep breath. 

”Anyway, these visions are always the same, but there is two of them. Like two outcomes, and really big ones. I never told anyone about them, not even Kanan.” 

He could hear his own voice cracking slightly as the sadness and regret returned with the memory, but Thrawn remained silent and waited patiently for him to continue. 

Ezra swallowed and forced himself to keep going. 

”I knew there was something about you. Something important. I knew you would come to Lothal too and what I needed to do. Because no matter who would win that battle, if you had returned to Coruscant we would have all lost. The whole galaxy would be lost.” 

That's when Thrawn raised his head, his glowing red eye locked on Ezra's. 

”Interesting,” he said and touched his chin with his fingers, considering something for a moment. 

”Very well, I will tell you,” he finally said as Ezra gazed at him curiously. 

”After that battle, I had been ordered to return to Coruscant, as you knew. What you may not have known is that I was accused of treason against the Empire and had recently been in contact with my people, which was seen as evidence of that.” 

Ezra was genuinely surprised, and he could hear the two troopers shift in their places, clearly listening to the conversation with equal curiosity. Thrawn ignored them and continued almost casually. 

”I cleared those suspicions, but the Emperor wasn't convinced, so it was very likely that my mission on Lothal was to be my last.” 

Ezra stared at Thrawn in shock. 

”So he was going to kill you after it?” 

”Perhaps,” Thrawn replied calmly. 

”It is quite possible that this -” he gestured at the wreckage around him. ”- could have saved my life.” 

A weary smile touched his lips. 

”Now, what about the other outcome?” 

Ezra stared at him for a moment with his mind still busy processing everything Thrawn had told him, before he realized he had been asked a question. 

”Oh? Yeah, the vision! That's how I knew about the purrgil, that they would take us here.” 

”Is there something special about this planet? Will that save the galaxy?” 

Thrawn observed Ezra intently. 

”I... I'm not sure. I only know there is something here we need to find. But like I said, the visions aren't easy to understand and mine are...” He paused. ”Well, they are incomplete...” 

”Incomplete?” Thrawn asked curiously. 

Ezra shook his head as he tried to collect his thoughts. 

”Yeah, that has something to do with the holocrons too.” 

His shoulders slumped slightly, but Thrawn didn't press on. 

”Very well. Thank you for sharing this with me. I know this is not where either of us wishes to be, but it seems like our wishes and goals do coincide, so it might be necessary for the time being.” 

Ezra huffed in response. 

”Well, I'm glad we agree on that.” 

”So would you -” Thrawn paused. ”- team up with me on this mission to find that something and see if we can learn more about its meaning for this galaxy?” 

Ezra stared at him in disbelief. The Chiss was full of surprises. He took a deep breath. 

”Yeah, I guess that's the whole point of us being here.” 

He looked at Thrawn who was looking more and more exhausted. 

”But first your injuries need to heal.” 

Thrawn smiled. 

”You are right. The first priority should be to assess the full situation here, gather the survivors, secure all the remaining provisions, and tend to the injured,” he agreed. ”I sent my men to do just that.” 

Thrawn closed his eye. 

”You have potential as a warrior, Commander Bridger,” he added quietly. 

Ezra was about to say something in return when he saw Thrawn had gone limp and was about to collapse to the floor. 

The two troopers noticed that something was wrong too and moved quickly. But Ezra was faster. 

He reached out through the Force to stop the fall of the Chiss, but even then he barely made it in time to prevent Thrawn's head from hitting the hard durasteel floor. 

The two troopers clearly saw the situation differently. Both had their blasters pointed at Ezra's head. 

”Should have known you were going to use some Jedi trick on him,” the other accused darkly. 

”Thrawn!” Ezra called out urgently while he laid the man down on his blanket as gently as he could. 

”THRAWN!!!” 

Weakly, Thrawn raised his hand just enough for the troopers to see and lower their weapons. They were still eyeing Ezra with suspicion through their helmets and standing right in front of the two. 

”It's alright,” Thrawn assured the two. ”Seems like I require some rest,” he added quietly as he reached to touch his head gingerly and squeezed his eye shut. 

”But sir,” the other of the two spoke. ”What should we do about the Jedi?” 

Thrawn took a few stuttering breaths before he spoke, clearly fighting through the pain that had gotten too intense and the troopers had to lean in closer to hear him. 

”My earlier orders still stand. Commander Bridger is to not be harmed, no matter what happens. His abilities will be crucial for us in order to get out of this predicament.” 

”Yes sir.” The two troopers glanced at each other and nodded at Ezra before returning to their posts near the door. 

Ezra wanted to ask Thrawn what he had meant, but thought better of it as he watched the man tighten his grip on the blanket, his knuckles turning nearly white and his mouth tightening into a line. 

Minutes passed in silence, but it was Thrawn who spoke first. 

”You surprise me Bridger.” 

The words were barely a whisper and the Chiss took a shuddering breath before he continued. 

”Not only as a warrior. You are a good listener too.” 

The words shook Ezra to the core because of the memory they brought back. 

”I've heard that before,” he finally said in a quiet voice, with a hint of sadness on his face. 

Thrawn didn't say anything else and Ezra kept an eye on him until it got dark. 

He had a lot on his mind so he barely registered as some of the stormtroopers and officers returned and exchanged a few words with the troopers guarding the door. He was aware that the two kept watching his every move, but ignored it. 

It was in the middle of the night when Ezra woke up with a start and realized that while thinking about everything he had learned that day, he had fallen asleep and was still right next to Thrawn. 

And the Chiss was watching him, his glowing red eye the only thing Ezra could see in the darkness. 

Ezra grunted in annoyance. He hated to admit he had actually slept quite well on the blanket next to the Chiss. 

He had his own blanket now and had fully intended to spread that in his corner, not share one with Thrawn! 

”Is everything alright, Bridger?” Thrawn asked as Ezra started crawling away, feeling around with his hand to make sure he wouldn't hit anything in the darkness as he was still too annoyed to focus on the environment through the Force. 

”I'm gonna get my own blanket,” he huffed in response. ”Sorry to be a bother.” 

”Nonsense,” there was mild amusement in Thrawn's voice and that irked Ezra even more. ”You looked much more comfortable than the night before. Just go back to sleep.” 

Ezra halted where he was. What had the Chiss said? 

”You saw me?” 

”Yes.” 

Ezra swallowed. 

”You can see in the dark?” 

The red glow of Thrawn's eye vanished briefly as he blinked. 

”Only a little. But I see you clearly now just as I did the night before.” 

Ezra wanted to get angry at the man for invading his privacy and catching him in his weak moment, but Thrawn didn't say a word about him crying. And even if he did, it wasn't his fault he had seen it. 

”My vision isn't nearly as useful as your sight though,” Thrawn commented coolly. 

”My sight?” Ezra asked confused before he realized what the Chiss meant. ”The Force?” 

”Indeed,” Thrawn confirmed tiredly. 

Ezra finally crawled back as he thought about it. 

”In the morning I'll get my blanket,” he promised. 

”Yes,” Thrawn agreed. ”And then you will stop being a bother.” 

Ezra bumped the Chiss lightly on the shoulder with his fist. The words had been spoken in the man's usual tone, but the Chiss was clearly teasing him now. 

Ezra rolled his eyes but smiled a little as he leaned his back against the wall and wrapped the cloak around his body more tightly. 

He didn't want to admit it, but he had gotten so used to sharing a room with someone that he had a hard time sleeping alone. Even back on the Ghost, the nights when Zeb was away always felt wrong. But there he knew there were friendly faces just outside the door at least. Here the loneliness had been suffocating and the Chiss must have seen right through him. Ezra wouldn't admit it but he felt better when there was someone nearby, even if that someone was Thrawn. 

”You know,” Ezra said half asleep. ”With those injuries, you must have some crazy luck on your side to still be alive.” 

Thrawn turned to look at him. 

”Interesting that you'd say that,” he commented and paused for a moment. ”Perhaps she was right,” he added quietly as if speaking to his own thoughts. 

”Hmm?” 

Ezra was almost asleep now. 

”Warrior's fortune, huh?” 

Thrawn closed his eye and that was the last thing Ezra heard before he was asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear Ezra was just doing whatever he pleases through this chapter and I had absolutely no control over his actions, but in the end I really enjoyed writing all that! There are some parts I'd really like to illustrate too. And so many headcanons!!! I hope you are enjoying all that! ^^


	4. A New Beginning

In the morning Ezra went to pick up the blanket and the clothes as promised, but rather than camping in the corner as far from everyone else as possible, he dropped his loot right next to Thrawn.

He noted that the troopers in black had vanished and assumed they also needed rest and had gone somewhere out of sight like most of the survivors.

In their place was a nervous-looking young officer, who kept eyeing Ezra warily.

Ezra waved his hand as a greeting as he passed the Imperial and yawned.

The man definitely wasn't used to guard duty so Ezra assumed all the others were busy with tasks of higher importance.  
The officer his arm in a sling but seemed otherwise uninjured.  
Seeing his sling reminded Ezra of the lingering pain in his own shoulder. It was constant but less intense than earlier, probably thanks to the bacta patches.

But even then, his arm had been getting stiff because of the swelling, and the first signs of an infection setting in made him feel slightly feverish. He should have switched new patches and bandages on the wounds by now but reaching the medbay had proven impossible and the Imperials had already emptied the medpacs he managed to find.

Ezra sighed. Of course the crew would need medical supplies, he knew that all too well.  
At least his clothes were dry so he'd be able to wear his own shirt and pants.

Ezra slumped down against the wall. His stomach was growling and the hunger was souring his mood, so he took the remaining ration bars he had picked up and, after considering it a moment, offered one to Thrawn too.

The Chiss took it gratefully and the two ate them in silence.

Ezra was about to open the last one when he noticed the nervous officer gazing at it with poorly disguised hunger in his eyes.

Ezra pursed his lips and let his shoulders drop as his gaze shifted between his snack and the Imperial officer. He was still hungry, but so was probably everyone else. A Star Destroyer would have provisions for years, but it could be nearly impossible to access them after a crash like this.

He beckoned the officer to come closer.

”Want one?” Ezra asked as casually as he could.

”Could I?”

The officer approached the two unsurely, his eyes flickering between Thrawn and Ezra.

”Sure,” Ezra said, trying to sound as cheerful as he could as he forced a smile on his face.

Thrawn shot him a knowing look, and nodded at the officer.

The man took the ration bar happily and returned to his post near the door, where he ate his share.

”Thank you.”

Thrawn nodded at Ezra politely and there was definitely a hint of genuine relief and gratefulness on his face.

”It was nothing.”

Ezra bit his lip as his stomach growled loudly. He'd have to find something else to eat.  
But first he'd change his clothes and at least take a look at the wound. The discomfort from it was becoming unbearable again so he'd have to deal with that before anything else.

He glared at the other two for a moment but decided to ignore their presence and started pulling off his shirt. It proved even more difficult than the last time because his injured arm was so stiff and every movement still stung.

After Ezra had struggled and groaned for a minute to no avail, the officer returned with a mixture of curiosity and concern on his face. He watched Ezra's struggle for a moment before helping him pull his injured arm out of the sleeve.

”Thanks...” Ezra bit out sourly.

He held his shoulder gingerly as the two shared uncertain looks.

”I can handle it from here,” he assured in a slightly more friendly tone and waved his uninjured hand dismissively.

”Are you sure?”

Thrawn was eyeing the bandages hanging loosely around Ezra's arm from where he was lying. He tried to push himself up with his hands and the officer hurried to aid him until the Chiss was sitting with his back against the wall again. ”That doesn't look good,” he noted.

”And whose fault is that?” Ezra snapped.

”My apologies,” Thrawn said calmly and kept observing the wound before turning his attention to the officer.

”Inform troopers Pik and Waffle to send someone with a small medpac here,” he ordered. ”And some food,” the Chiss added in a more casual tone.

”Yes, sir!”

The officer took the mission with pride and was about to leave when Thrawn stopped him again.

”One more thing. The death troopers will know. Tell them to bring 'that' from my office.”

The officer looked at Thrawn with equal confusion as Ezra but the Chiss wasn't saying anything else so the man accepted the strange new order and finally rushed out, leaving Ezra and Thrawn alone.

”What was that all about?” Ezra demanded.

”Just a little request,” Thrawn answered with an almost mischievous smile. It took Ezra off guard a little.

It only took the officer about 15 minutes to return with a pair of stormtroopers carrying emergency supplies. He appeared out of breath but proud of himself.  
The stormtroopers looked around with concern, quickly focusing their attention on the Chiss.

”Sir, is there a problem? Do you need assistance?”

”No, these are for Commander Bridger,” Thrawn answered calmly, nodding towards Ezra.

”But sir, he...” The stormtroopers protested, but Thrawn silenced them with a raised hand.

”I believe there is enough medical supplies to treat everyone?” he asked.

”Yes, but...”

”Then I don't see a problem,” Thrawn interrupted with an almost menacing voice full of authority that made it clear that this wouldn't be discussed any further.  
He returned his attention to Ezra.

”Now then, sit down and let me take a look.”

Ezra wanted to protest, but he already knew that trying to treat the wound himself would be pointless if he couldn't do it properly.  
Reluctantly he shook off the thought that Thrawn was the last person he wanted anywhere near his wound and sat down in front of the Chiss without saying a word.

Thrawn looked at each Imperial in turn but they all avoided his gaze, not wanting anything to do with the rebel. Thrawn didn't seem bothered or irritated by it and simply returned his attention to Ezra without saying anything.

Even after the talk they'd had, Ezra still found it hard to trust the man completely. He gave Thrawn a warning glare when the Chiss reached for his wounded shoulder, but it was ignored.

Ezra gritted his teeth as Thrawn grabbed his shoulder, but while his grip was firm, he was surprisingly gentle and his touch felt soothingly cool. It wasn't enough to make him relax, but he stopped glaring at the man. He could sense no malice from the Chiss anyway.

With the confidence of someone with experience, Thrawn started peeling off the bandages around Ezra's shoulder. The wounds had bled from all the exertion and the fabric had been glued to the wound with the dried blood, so each tug on the bandages made the boy wince and groan in discomfort.

He clenched his teets as Thrawn reached the bacta patch underneath. The pain when it was removed brought tears in his eyes, and once again he wanted to escape out of Thrawn's reach, but the man held his arm tightly with one hand while searching through the medpac with the other.

”Stay still, Bridger. Your wound is infected and requires cleaning,” the Chiss reminded him as he pressed a cloth covered in antiseptic solution directly on the wound.

Ezra made a strangled cry and tried to wiggle himself free but Thrawn looked him straight in the eyes and something in the look of that glowing red eye made Ezra stop. He knew the man wasn't doing this to hurt him and he was most likely the only one willing to treat his wounds on this ship or even on the whole planet, so he bit his lip and forced his body to stay still and endure the stinging pain.

”That will leave a scar,” the Chiss said matter-of-factly as he studied the injury.

Ezra wanted to remind him again that he had caused the wound to begin with, but he didn't get a chance as the man pressed the cloth on the wound again and he had to suppress a cry.

Thrawn didn't prod at the wound for long and Ezra felt relieved when he applied a fresh bacta patch on it, a larger one than the patches he had managed to find himself. Finally he wrapped a clean bandage around his shoulder and upper arm with the gentleness that still surprised Ezra. It kept the patch in place firmly and neatly, supporting his shoulder, and Ezra felt better immediately.  
But Thrawn wasn't done.

”You really shouldn't be straining your arm now,” Thrawn commented with an almost scolding tone in his calm voice as he leaned forward and wrapped Ezra's entire arm in a piece of cloth that he tied into a knot behind his neck, creating a sling for his injured arm.  
Once he was done, the Chiss leaned back again, visibly exhausted.

”You are one to talk,” Ezra bit out belatedly. ”I didn't ask for your help.” He turned around and reached for his clothes.

”But thanks,” he added quietly.

”It was necessary for our survival,” Thrawn explained matter-of-factly.

”Yeah, yeah.” Ezra waved his hand dismissively as he pulled the shirt - his own shirt - over his head. He pulled his arm out of the sling to push it through the hole where his sleeve had been and spared Thrawn a quick glance as he placed his arm back in the sling, but the Chiss had closed his eye and was leaning his head against the wall.

Ezra was secretly impressed by Thrawn's ability to hide his pain and keep his face calm even in a situation like this. It kept his men from panicking as they followed whichever order the Grand Admiral gave them and reported back to him, but Ezra had seen how serious his injuries were. He knew it would take a long time for him to fully recover and he could feel the man's pain bleed into the Force in waves even when his expression remained impassive.  
This was one of the moments when it got bad enough to make the face of the Chiss momentarily contort in pain, but the troopers were too busy with their tasks to notice.

Once Ezra had his own clothes on, he was about to head out.

”Wait a moment, Bridger.”

Ezra spun around to see Thrawn gazing at his direction.

”What is it now?” Ezra did his best to feign annoyance, but before either of them had the chance to say anything else, the officer from earlier appeared from the doorway.

”Sir, they are here!”

He was followed by four troopers that were pushing two large crates into the room. Two stormtroopers and the two troopers in black that Ezra was already familiar with. He observed them curiously, trying to guess what they were up to.

”Apologies for the delay,” one of the stormtroopers said.

”No apologies needed,” Thrawn assured. ”I believe there is enough for all of us?”

The stormtrooper jolted in surprise. ”Yes sir, but I couldn't possibly,” he started.

”You may take your share and leave if you wish,” Thrawn said calmly. ”But that is not necessary. The usual protocols won't apply here,” he added patiently.

”Does that mean we can take our helmets off?” The trooper still seemed uncertain.

”Yes,” Thrawn affirmed. ”This planet is not a part of the Empire so that is no longer necessary unless we come under attack.”

The stormtrooper made a sound that could have been a sigh of relief and removed his helmet carefully. Ezra saw that he wasn't any older than he was.

The other stormtrooper followed his example, revealing an older man. Both looked at each other and then back to Thrawn who was still watching them patiently.

”Go ahead, Bridger,” Thrawn gestured towards the crate as neither of the troopers made a move.

The stormtroopers jumped a little as if they had only just realized that Ezra was there too.

”Hi,” Ezra greeted the two as he peeked inside the container. He gasped in surprise as he found it was filled with food.

”I believe this takes away one of our problems,” Thrawn stated casually as he watched Ezra rummage through the provisions.

Ezra couldn't help but smirk as he picked up as many goods as he could carry.  
He considered tossing something for Thrawn to catch, but noticed that the older trooper was already on it and had brought a meal to the Chiss.

Ezra brought his own haul back to the blanket he had claimed as his own and watched the stormtroopers settle down nearby, still eyeing him and Thrawn nervously.  
Their faces brightened as soon as they tasted the food and they ate eagerly like it was the best meal they'd ever had.  
The young officer joined them shortly.

To Ezra's surprise, Thrawn hadn't touched his food yet. His attention was on the troopers in black who were still standing by the other crate. He nodded at them and the two approached him.

The Chiss raised his arms slightly and the troopers positioned themselves on both sides of him and slowly helped the man up.

Ezra raised an eyebrow curiously as the two helped Thrawn to the crate and opened it while the Chiss leaned against them for support.

”This is all that remained. Everything had shattered in the crash,” one of the two apologized, his voice as impassive as before.

”That was to be expected,” Thrawn said calmly, although Ezra saw a flicker of sadness on his face.  
The Chiss observed the content with interest for a moment and turned his attention to Ezra who was still stuffing food into his mouth while watching them.

”Bridger,” the Chiss called. ”I believe this is something you should see.”

Ezra shot him a confused look and got up slowly, walking past Thrawn and the two troopers, and peered inside the crate from the other side. His breath caught in his throat as he saw what was inside.

”That's..” He swallowed hard. ”That's Sabine's!”

It was the piece of the wall with Sabine's artworks on it. Or small fragments of it anyway, but Ezra could recognize the symbol and the loth-cat among the fragments like pieces of a puzzle, and the sight reminded him of home and his family.

Suddenly he found himself unable to speak and blinked rapidly in an attempt to keep his emotions under control.

Thrawn observed his reaction calmly without saying a word.  
Ezra turned his back on him to hide his face as tears found their way into his eyes and he rubbed them with his remaining sleeve.

”Again, I saved what I could,” Thrawn explained. He reached inside the crate but stopped just before his fingers reached a piece of the painting.

”This artwork should be for you to have,” he stated calmly as Ezra turned to look at him again. The Chiss pulled his hand away from the crate, leaning tiredly against the troopers who were still supporting him from both sides.

”Thank you,” Ezra whispered. On this faraway planet, this shattered piece of a wall with Sabine's art on it was the only material reminder he had of his home and his family. He touched the cold stone surface gently and looked at Thrawn.

The Chiss had a distant look on his face, like he was lost in a memory himself.

The thoughts and feelings of the man were usually veiled and impossible to figure out even through the Force, but in that moment Ezra was certain he could feel a wave of sadness and longing from him.

”What do you have to remind you of your people?” Ezra asked without thinking.

Thrawn inclined his head and Ezra could see a bittersweet smile touch his lips briefly.

”Memories,” he answered calmly.

Before Ezra was able to say anything else, his thoughts were interrupted by the officer who had abruptly jumped up.

”Sir, the supplies have arrived,” he informed urgently and hurried to the doorway.

”Excellent. Thank you.” Thrawn turned his head to look where he'd gone.

Ezra didn't have to wonder what else Thrawn had asked them to bring for long. Soon a number of officers arrived, pushing an emergency power pack into the room while some carried other electronic devices.

Ezra watched them with interest, trying to figure out what they were doing with those items. The devices were set up in a corner.  
When the officers were done, Thrawn straightened his back and started walking towards it with the help of the troopers in black still on both of his sides.

Ezra kept an eye on them even as he returned to finish his meal.

Apparently the Chiss wanted to record some kind of emergency message to play from the bridge in case someone would show up nearby, but Ezra could only hear a word here and there.

He decided to leave the Imperials at it, and left the bridge to go exploring, taking his hooded cape with him.

He ran into a few stormtroopers this time, but each of them just nodded at him cautiously while hurrying to do whatever they were doing. Apparently Thrawn's orders had been delivered to them throughout the ship.

Ezra waved his hand at them casually and kept going all the way back to the crack on the hull.

The sky was clear and he could see down to the crater created by the crashing Star Destroyer.  
The soil had softened the impact but the ship had sunk quite deep in the ground.  
Somewhere in the distance he could see vegetation growing wild in all directions.

He studied the area for a moment and with a few leaps along the outer hull, he found his way down on the ground.

It was time to take a look around.

When Ezra returned at nightfall, Thrawn gave him a knowing look. He was working on something, braiding pieces of cord together.  
The Chiss looked tired but there was new determination on his face.

”What are you doing?” Ezra asked while settling down for the night.

”Rope,” Thrawn answered without lifting his eye from the work.

”Hmm... Yeah, that might come in handy.” Ezra eyed the coil of finished rope next to Thrawn and thought about it.  
But it was late and he was getting sleepy, so he left Thrawn at it and curled up in his blanket, falling asleep almost instantly.

That night Ezra slept peacefully, with no interruptions, and his mind full of hope, dreaming about home and about the family he knew he'd see again one day. He felt more at ease sharing the space with Thrawn and the Imperials now so their presence didn't bother him.

The next day he was up early, playing card games with the stormtroopers on the bridge.

The two death troopers had joined them and they were all sitting on the floor in a ring. Ezra had lost a few games at first, but he was on a roll now, winning the rounds one after another. He had managed to get the troopers to bet their helmets, so he was well on his way to restart his collection. The older trooper still had his, and he looked at Thrawn who was sitting in his usual spot still braiding rope to pass the time.

”Sir, what should I do?” The trooper asked.

”Hey! That's cheating!” Ezra complained loudly.

Thrawn raised an eyebrow and smiled in amusement.

”You should switch the two cards on your hand and wait for the next turn,” the Chiss suggested.

”And you! Don't help them! That's unfair!” Ezra protested but smiled.

”Finding allies and asking for another opinion are excellent strategies,” Thrawn stated calmly in response.

Ezra pretended to pout for a moment.

”I know,” he finally conceded.

The troopers ended up winning back their helmets with Thrawn's help, and after that they decided to end the game and return to their duties elsewhere on the ship.  
Ezra swore they'd play again later - without Thrawn's help - and then he'd get his helmet collection.

Thrawn had finished braiding the ropes and had them neatly coiled on the floor.

Ezra watched the Chiss as he reached for the food crate to hold onto it for support as he struggled to stand up, but the strain was still too much for the man, and he slumped back to the floor groaning and holding his head gingerly.

The death troopers heard him and appeared from the doorway, but this time Ezra was faster.

Thrawn looked up at him with a surprised expression as Ezra offered him his hand.

The Chiss reached for it and Ezra pulled him onto his feet.

”Hungry?” He asked, looking at the crate.

Thrawn smiled slightly.

”No, that's not what I want right now.”

Ezra frowned.

”Then what? Refresher?”

”I wanted to take a look at the planet.” Thrawn gazed at the sky through the broken viewport and took a step towards the door.

The death troopers were immediately by his side, but Thrawn stopped them with an upraised hand.

He took another step carefully. His legs shook from the exertion, but with determination he walked forward, only pausing every now and then to lean against the wall for a moment.

”You sure?” Ezra followed behind him with the death troopers.

Thrawn nodded.

”Then I know where we need to go!” Ezra beamed happily. ”Wait! Think that rope you made would be strong enough to carry you?”

Thrawn shot him a curious look.

”It will,” he confirmed.

”Great!” Ezra was already running back to the bridge, and in less than a minute he was back with the coiled ropes hanging from his belt and a glowrod in his good hand.

He took the lead, showing the way to the Chiss and the troopers, grateful that some of the rubble had been cleaned out of the way by the Imperials.

Once they reached the crack on the hull, Thrawn took a moment to catch his breath before he looked out.

”I see.” He touched his chin with his hand thoughtfully. ”The ropes will definitely be of use.”

”Told you so!” Ezra had released one of the coils from his belt and had tossed a loop of rope over the piping in the ceiling near the hole in the wall. He tested its strength and once he was satisfied, he tossed another loop over the pipes on the other side of the hole.

He considered their length for a moment. ”I'll check if these will be enough.”

Before anyone had the chance to say anything, he was gone, taking long leaps until he was down on the ground.

The death troopers looked at each other while Thrawn gazed down at the young man with his usual calmness.

”These ropes are perfect!” Ezra commented happily as he waved at the men above. ”Let me just,” he trailed off and picked something from the ground. Thrawn watched him as the young man tied a piece of metal between the two ropes. ”Yes, this should do!”

He looked up again.

”Hey! Think you two could help the blue guy down with this?”

The two death troopers turned to look at Thrawn uncertainly, but the Chiss just nodded calmly, so they pulled the makeshift lift up and helped the man sit on it.

Ezra gave them a thumbs up and the two started lowering him towards the ground, holding one rope each.

Ezra kept him steady with the help of the Force and as Thrawn reached the ground, he offered the Chiss his shoulder to lean on.

He took the support gratefully and watched in silence as the two death troopers came down one by one using the same lift and handling the ropes on their own.

Both of them were strong and their injuries weren't serious so they handled the task with ease with only minor assistance from Ezra.

Soon they took their place by Thrawn's side and followed Ezra as he was showing them the easiest way outside the crater.

Once they were on the top and could see the view around them clearly, Ezra turned around and smiled.

”What do you think?”

Thrawn gazed at the seemingly endless forests with interest.

”I see our new mission is going to take some time.”

”I know,” Ezra agreed as they both looked at the view with their minds already on their future adventures, remembering Thrawn's warning of the hidden threat awaiting them and Ezra's cryptid vision of a way to defeat it.

”Your injuries will need time to heal too,” Ezra said thoughtfully. ”So when you are ready, will you help me figure out the meaning of my vision?” He looked at Thrawn into the eye.

Thrawn smiled genuinely.

”Perhaps.” 

*****

Enjoy some art related to the story:

[ ](http://fav.me/ddzalrr)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was about time for Ezra to receive some medical attention too. His injuries may not be as life-threatening as Thrawn's, but without proper care they will get very bad. Now it's time for them to step into a new world - quite literally. 
> 
> The four days they spent on the ship was because Rommel spent four days in the hospital and that was the reference I used for this.  
Thrawn didn't lose his eye by the way, but there is some nerve damage that prevents him from moving it, so he'll have to use the eyepatch for now. As for anything else, I'll leave that up to your imagination! 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the little story! Thank you for reading! ^^

**Author's Note:**

> I originally intended this story to be a short oneshot of a scene I had wanted to draw as a comic but decided it would be easier to write, but then Ezra took over and the story grew several chapters long, including many of my headcanons of the things that may or may not happen post-Rebels. xD 
> 
> As for Thrawn's injuries: just as a major inspiration for the character himself is Erwin Rommel, I based Thrawn's injuries on the injuries Rommel suffered when his car crashed as a result of an air attack. 
> 
> Quite a predicament for both of them with Thrawn seriously injured and Ezra struggling with his conflicting feelings, but I hope you'll enjoy the story! I'll post the next chapter as soon as I finish editing it. ^^ 
> 
> As a random note, this chapter was written while I was sailing the sea. Funny how the peaceful environment has that kind of effect on me. xD


End file.
